Background
White, Clarence Cameron was born on August 10, 1880 in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. Son of James William and Virginia Caroline (Scott) White.
(Forty Negro Spirituals. Compiles & Arranged for Solo Voic...)
Forty Negro Spirituals. Compiles & Arranged for Solo Voice. Clarence Cameron White, Theodore Press, Copyright 1927, Printing date unknown, 129 Pages, Hardcover with Dust Jacket, Dust Jacket has some clear tape Repairs, Book is nice and Clean, Piano1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KJCW62/?tag=2022091-20
(From back cover... "Clarence Cameron White has done a fin...)
From back cover... "Clarence Cameron White has done a fine piece of work in these superior arrangements for solo singing. Throughout, the authentic, traditional harmonies, which are such a distinguishing feature of negro group singing, are cleverly preserved. Presented in the serious mood in which they are meant to be sung, these spirituals prove a noteworthy addition to recital or concert program"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P7I3F2/?tag=2022091-20
composer conductor musicologist
White, Clarence Cameron was born on August 10, 1880 in Clarksville, Tennessee, United States. Son of James William and Virginia Caroline (Scott) White.
Born in Clarksville, Tennessee to James West. White, a doctor and school principal, and Jennie Scott White, a violinist who studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In Washington, District of Columbia, he attended Howard University from 1894–1895. At age eight he studied violin, first with Will Marion Cook and then he continued his studies with Martin Legowitz at age Twelve.
He attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music 1896–1901, but before graduating he accepted a teaching position.
Dramatic works by the composer were his best-known, such as the incidental music for the play Tambour and the opera Ouanga. During the first decades of the twentieth century, White was considered the foremost violinist of his race. White received his musical training in Oberlin, Ohio at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he was the only black student in the orchestra.
His musical education continued later at the Hartford School of Music.
To this union were born two children: William Warrick White (March 27, 1906–?) Clarence Cameron White, Junior. (March 11, 1908–January 30, 1913) White was a protégé of Emma Azalia Hackley who raised money for his scholarship to allow him to study abroad.
Traveling to London, he studied music with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in 1906. He returned to the city again from 1908 to 1910 to study with M. Zacharewitsch.
From 1924 to 1930, he continued teaching at Virginia State College and then at the Hampton Institute (1932—1935).
In this period he wrote his best-known works: the ballet, A Night in Sans Souci—from the play Tambour, and the opera Ouanga. The lead role in Ouanga had been performed by baritone Lawrence Winters. These works are based on Haitian themes working with playwright and librettist John Matheus.
During the period of 1930–1932, he studied with Raoul Laparra in Paris.
His compositions began as neoromantic pieces that were conventional for the period. "Negro" folk music then served as an inspirational source.
The early output of the composer included violin compositions and spiritual arrangements such as and Traditional Negro Spirituals (1940). As he matured, the forms utilized by the composer became more varied.
The 1954 Benjamin Award was presented to him for Elegy, a composition for orchestra.
He also used decidedly "Negro" themes for his string quartet and other chamber music As a concert violinist he received critical praise. White soon moved to New York City and in 1943 remarried to Pura Belpré.
(Forty Negro Spirituals. Compiles & Arranged for Solo Voic...)
(From back cover... "Clarence Cameron White has done a fin...)
He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Married Beatrice Louise Warrick, April. Married second, Pura Belpre, December 26, 1943. Children: William Warrick (deceased), Clarence Cameron (deceased).